The present invention relates to an apparatus for refinishing an out-of-round kiln tire and, more particularly, an adjustable assembly which grinds an out-of-round tire into round.
A rotary kiln is a rotating hollow cylinder or shell of a relatively large diameter mounted on rollers tipped at an incline. Heat is introduced into the cylinder where it is used for incinerating, drying, curing or heat treating materials in a continuous process. A number of raised steel ands called “tires” are typically disposed about the rotary kiln to assist in rotation of the kiln by the trunnion rollers. As a tire ages, various types of wear problems can occur. For instance, tire and trunnion roller surfaces may show severe wear. Symptoms may include pitting, spalling, vibration, uneven wear across their width dimension and rolled-over edges.
These conditions can result in serious damage and downtime to the rotary kiln. Damage can include unnecessary wear on key components and, if allowed to continue, other major and expensive problems can occur, such as premature bearing failures, damages to tire-retaining components, bases, drive components and peers and footings.
To this end, it is well-established that grinding kiln tires back into round gives them a near-new surface finish. This, in turn, reduces vibration, uneven wear and rolled-over edges. However, to successfully grind a tire on a rotary kiln, it is necessary to be able to place the grinding surface tangent to the tire, which in turn requires that the grinding apparatus be adjustable to properly grind the out-of-round tire surface. On-site personnel must be able to easily adjust the tire grinder to accommodate varying conditions.